Fixing the Mistakes of the Future
by Ghostunderasheet
Summary: The loss of Cedric affected Harry more than anyone but Hermione knew. Hermione kept her time turner from third year and gives it to Harry along with how he can travel back to save Cedric. Along the way he discovers something about his family that he never expected. Harry/Cedric Hermione/Krum
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Way Back**

Harry hasn't smiled in weeks. Heck, he hadn't had any reason to smile. They may have won the war, but the price… it had been too high. The losses weighed on him. He'd lost everything and also nearly everyone. People were looking to him for guidance he didn't have and didn't have the strength to fake anymore.

Hagrid had been the first of his friends to die, and everything had gone downhill from there. Percy died, shaking the entire Weasely Family to the end of their tethers. Then there was the business with Ron and Krum, which had torn Hermione apart and Harry with her. MrGonogall, Kingsley and little Dennis Creevy went down with the attack on Hogwarts. There was… what happened to Neville and Draco. Then Crookshanks, Sirius… even little Teddy didn't make it in the end. He'd been just a baby. He couldn't have hurt anyone if he'd wanted to.

"Get out of bed, Harry," a sharp, hardened voice like knife shaped flint cut from the doorway, behind Harry's back.

Harry didn't respond.

Hermione was having none of that. "Harry, look at me," she ordered, coming to sit in front of him. "Now, Harry."

He didn't have it in him to refuse her. She was some of the last of his family. He loved her, and she knew that. She was willing to use his love for her to both of their benefit. "Harry, remember in our third year, that business with the Time Turner?" she asked softly.

It had been so long ago. "I remember," Harry admitted. Things had been easier then.

"I still have it."

Harry sat up. His back was straight for once. There was a certain light in his bleary, tired eyes that had been missing for years. "You said it could only go a few hours." He remembered. Harry had always listened when Hermione spoke. Knowledge was power and power helped you protect what you loved. He couldn't afford anything less in this world. Not even now.

"With the correct runic displays and ritual, it is possible to change it to years instead of hours. But Harry, my magical core isn't large enough to sustain me through that sort of procedure. I'd destabilize and loose my memories. Nothing would change. You though-"

"I'll do it."


	2. Nice to Meet You, Padfoot

**Chapter 1: Nice to Meet you Padfoot**

Harry opened his eyes. He was in Dudley's second bedroom, it was hot, he was not quite thirteen years of age, and no one had died. He rolled upright. From her cage, Hedwig chirped at him. Harry wanted to cry for it. She had died in the War, cut down by friendly fire of all things. Just bad luck. Harry didn't blame Neville. He had died in the same fight after all.

Eventually he headed down the stairs to discover that it was the last day of Aunt Marge's stay with the Dursleys. He had no intention of remaining here for it. It wasn't difficult to pick the lock to the cupboard under the stairs. Actually, it was a skill he had mastered long ago, something the twins had taught him to help survive the War. It had helped. Once his stuff was free, Harry quickly placed it outside the window behind the rose bushes. No one went near the gardens except for him, usually on hot sunny days, so there was no concern that it might be discovered. Quickly Harry relocked the cupboard that had once been his bedroom and went back upstairs. It was a matter of moments to locate his aunt Petunia in the living room watching her soaps. Harry wisely waited for a commercial break before he started a conversation with her, wanting her in as good a mood as possible. Not to say that Petunia Dursley was ever in a good mood.

"Aunt Petunia, I'm sick," Harry stated, deadpan.

She peered at him. "You don't look sick."

"No, I'm really sick," he repeated, putting no effort into making his statement to make it sound true. He looked back at her. "Contagious even. Deathly ill. It's unsightly. Marge might catch it. Think of your precious Dudders. I can't be allowed out of my room. I'm sure. I could cause a pandemic."

Petunia blinked. She wasn't making the connection. Well, clearly all the smarts in the family had gone to Lilly.

Harry sighed. "You don't want me to attend dinner like this, do you?"

Slowly, the mental light bulb in his aunt's head flickered on. "Go to your room and don't come out until you're better." She didn't want him at dinner either. It was embarrassing to have Marge see him all the time anyway. Plus, she could conveniently 'forget' to bring him dinner later – never mind lunch, she never fed him that anyway. Nothing he could do about it and he knew better at this point than to come downstairs and steal anything from the fridge.

Harry went to his room. He released Hedwig, whispering brief instructions to meet him at Diagon Ally, before he jumped out the window with a grace and confidence borne and forged by war, collected his trunk from the bushes outside and started walking. He would never return to that house so long as he lived.

Significantly, that little fact was so far from his mind that the though didn't occur to him until hours later. Harry was lost in his thoughts. The Dursleys were no longer a factor. He had much more important things to consider. How was he going to prevent the War? The key would be the Horcruxes and who could get to them first. Harry was reluctant to involve anyone else but he knew he couldn't do everything by himself, especially not at the age of thirteen. He also didn't want to manipulate anyone into doing his bidding, which would leave a bad taste in his mouth. One distinctly reminiscent of lemon sherbets. So who could Harry trust with the truth that would both believe him and help him?

Harry's plans didn't get much further than that before he was suddenly slammed into by a wall of black fur, knocked back on his back, and quite firmly distracted from his thoughts. Harry realized that there was a huge black dog on top of him, licking his face and hair with doggy kisses with persistent vigor.

"Padfoot, stop mauling me immediately," Harry ordered calmly, trying to hold bacy the jubilant grin that wanted to spread across his face and the laughter that wanted to infect his voice. "If someone sees a grown man kissing me they might get the wrong idea and lock you up!"

Padfoot stilled for perhaps half a second before he jumped off and transformed into Sirius Black, "Harry how did you know that was me? And how did you remember what I am?" Even as he spoke he was pulling Harry into a hug, tucking him under his chin and nuzzling his hair to catch his scent. (If you spend as much time in your animal form as Sirius did, some traits just wouldn't go away.)

"I remember lots of stuff," Harry promised, thinking of the future that would never happen. "I remember the last full moon before that Halloween too."

"You were a baby," Sirius murmured into his hair. "You should have been too young. I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"It's not your fault, it's Pettigrew's," Harry dismissed. "C'mon. Transform back so we can go to Diagon Ally. I need a room in the Leaky and it looks like you'll be bunking with me anyway."

* * *

 _Baby Harry was held in his mother's arms, feeling safe and happy. Lilly stroked his little head and smiled down at him proudly. She would leave soon and take him to his nursery but she wanted to be there for Remus first. It was a full moon tonight and having her there with the others seemed to help him. Lilly was not one to deny a friend such a small comfort. She knew better than to fear Remus or that he might attack her child. He was pack, and so were they. They would never hurt each other willingly._

 _Padfoot and Prongs were side-by-side, fur touching as they waited for their pack-mate to shift. Peter was unable to attend, stating a recent injury and begging off. It was no great loss._

 _Suddenly there was a wrenching crack of bone and Remus's back snapped into a horribly backwards looking position. He suppressed his cry of pain, smothering it in with his own will, but couldn't hide his whimper at the knowledge that it was only going to be worse. Transformations always hurt. Remus hated them, fought them when he could. Padfoot flattened his ears to his head, whining in part sympathy and part encouragement and Prongs scuffed one hoof against the ground in compassion. They were far too used to seeing this._

 _The sound of Remus's transformation woke Harry in Lilly's arms. His friend was hurting. His_ Moony _was hurting! No! No, Harry was_ not _allowing his Moony to hurt!_

 _"Harry, sweetie," Lilly tried to sooth her son, "It's okay. He's going to be fine. Moony is just-"_

 _Harry let out a loud wail, making the animagi in the room wince as the sound hit their ears. A white light washed out across the room, temporarily blinding everyone._

 _Nothing happened._

 _"What…?" Remus asked. "What just happened?"_

 _"Remus," Lilly's eyes widened. "Remus you stopped changing. Remus, look!"_

 _James transformed back without hesitation, quickly rushing first to his son and hen to his friend – brother in all but blood. "Moony? What?"_

 _Sirius sat in dog form for a moment before transforming in a whirlwind of fur and leaping onto a fierce embrace with the werewolf. "You're not shifting," he whispered into his hair with wonder filling his voice. "You're not hurting. You're okay. Remus you're okay!"_

 _And suddenly the three men were boys again, jumping and whooping and Remus had never felt so free for his entire life. It didn't matter if this never repeated again. It didn't matter if next time hurt a hundred times worse. It didn't matter if this was just a dream because for this moment it was_ perfect _._

 _Lilly looked down at her baby, her Harry, her little miracle. He was clapping his hands and drooling eagerly in that way that most babies do when they're happy. "You're my little miracle worker," she whispered to him. "I love you so much Harry. You're going to be a truly great wizard one day."_


	3. Manipulating Mr Fudge

**Chapter 3: Manipulating Mr. Fudge**

Harry had no problem summoning the Knight Bus to their location. It was surprisingly refreshing to see Stan Shunpike both alive and un-impiriused. "Where to then?" he asked lazily.

"Diagon Alley," Harry requested, "And no, I don't want a toothbrush."

"Why does no one ever want the toothbrush?" Stan muttered. "You'd think that- hey, aren't you Harry Potter?" Harry didn't even bother responding to that question. "You are! You must be, look at your scar! Ern, take a look at-"

Sirius, still disguised as Padfoot, growled lowly.

"Grim!" Stan squeaked. "Grim!"

The next thing Harry knew, he was at the entrance of Diagon Alley with Padfoot and his trunk next to him as a bus full of gibbering, terrified, superstitious wizards teleported away faster than physically possible. Harry turned to look at Padfoot. "Did we even get the chance to pay?" he asked.

Padfoot shrugged surprisingly well for a dog. You'd think their anatomy would make it more difficult.

"Oh well. Not our fault," Harry dismissed. And really, one passenger's fair wasn't enough to make or break the Knight Bus anyway. It's not like he'd done it on purpose.

Upon entering the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was displeased to encounter the man he'd hoped to avoid this time around. THen again, politicians did have their uses if you knew how to use them. His younger self from before would have hated to manipulate a politician to do his bidding but after the war and after what he had lived though Harry knew better. People like Fudge were only in office to be manipulated by outside factors. Better he be manipulated to do good than be controlled by someone like Malfoy.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," Minister Fudge greeted, smiling saccharinely, "I'm so glad that you're sa-a-a-aaaAAAGGGHHH! GRIM!"

"Calm yourself, Minister Fudge," Harry soothed, gesturing for Padfoot to stand down. It would be just like his godfather to move closer or growl to try and make the man piss himself. As funny as that would be, it also wouldn't be very useful. "This is merely a dog, not a grim. I assure you, our lives are safe. I have been in its company for some time and have yet to fall to harm. There is no cause for concern."

"Right, I, ah, right," Fudge muttered, staring at the dog. "I- uh, Mr. Potter… You, ah, you need to go back to your relatives. It's safer, _much_ safer, there. Far away from me with the gri-er, dog."

If Fudge's concentration was entirely on avoiding Padfoot, it would be even easier for Harry to get what he wanted than he anticipated. "Minister Fudge - Cornelius, can I call you Cornelius? - I have a few requests for you."

It was not even remotely difficult for Harry to sweet-talk the man into allowing him to stay at the Leaky and arranging meetings with the Diggorys and Amelia Bones without telling him why. Fudge agreed in part he was scared of his fellow ministry workers, knowing that they were more intelligent, more magically powerful and more charismatic than him. Harry smirked internally while smiling genteelly at the man. He hadn't even needed to break out the blackmail. That would wait for another day, when it would be more effective. For now, a lighter touch was better.

"Have a nice evening, Cornelius," Harry bid the man goodnight.

"Good evening Mr. Potter," the minister agreed before beating a hasty retreat. Siruis couldn't resist snapping slightly at the man's heels as he went past and Harry only barely suppressed the laughter that wanted to escape him as he saw the minister run like the hounds of hell were behind him.

Tom led Harry and Padfoot to a room, setting a plate out for dinner and Sirius transforms right in front of them.

"What the heck, Padfoot?! Do you want to get caught?" Harry asked indignantly

"It's okay Harry he knows," Sirius reassured him. "Tom can be trusted."

"This mangy mutt dropped by three days after his escape, as a mutt begging for a meal," Tom explained. "Once the Cauldron was empty he transformed, and I already knew who he was, long story, but I gave him two hearty meals before he went to get you."

"Oh, well thank you then," Harry said, not having realized that Tom was someone that could be trusted to such a degree. In retrospect he should have. In his original summer before third year, the man had been incredibly helpful, had taken to looking after him and had occasionally reminded him to eat and such. It should have been obvious that he could be trusted, but the residual paranoia of the War had affected Harry badly, making him see anyone he didn't _know_ to be on his side as his enemy before he even judged them. "Anyway let's settle in and go to bed it's late," Harry decided.

He curled up into bed under the covers and watched Padfoot devour his meal. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

 _Harry felt tears fall on the back of his hands. He was trying to stop the bleeding. Some poor firstie had taken a sectumsempra to the - well, he got hit everywhere. There was too much blood to stop and Harry's spells hadn't worked and the kid was covered in so much red that Harry couldn't tell what house colors his tie used to have. The kid wasn't going to make it. Some part of Harry already knew that. He kept trying to save his life anyway._

 _The boy tried to draw breath and ended up spitting out blood instead. "Mr. Potter," he gasped out._

" _Don't try to talk," Harry ordered. "You'll just make it worse."_

"' _S fine," the boy, the_ child _dismissed. No eleven year old should be resigned to death so easily unless they had absolutely nothing left to live for anyway. And even then, Harry was supposed to save them. It was Harry's job to save them all. "Mr. Potter, you-" he choked again._

" _I told you not to talk," Harry instructed, not letting the tears that fell down his face effect his voice. The kid was probably suffering from blood loss and had blurry vision anyway._

" _Mr. Potter, you gotta stop this," the boy begged. "Don't- don't let them win."_

 _The boy fell still. Harry cried._

* * *

"Harry! Harry are you okay?" Sirius demanded. "You were having a nightmare."

"I know," Harry muttered.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sirius offered coutiously.

"No," Harry bit out quickly before taking a calming breath and answering, "No. It doesn't matter. Nightmares aren't real. I won't let them be real."

"If you say so," Sirius allowed, clearly not believing that he'd beent old the whole truth but trusting hs Godson to know his own limits. "Get some more sleep, pup. You'll need it. Big day tomorrow. Are you sure about those requests you made from Fudge?"

"It'll work out, Padfoot," Harry promised. "I know what I'm doing."

"If you say so.


	4. Parents Blessing

**Chapter 4: Meet the Parents**

Harry woke up feeling surprisingly well rested considering the amount of sleep he didn't get the night before. He took a quick breakfast at the Leaky before heading out to get his school supplies. He avoided getting the Divination textbook, and got the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes Textbooks instead. The shop owner at Flourish and Blotts was so grateful when he showed the mean how to calm the Care of Magical Creatures textbook that he gave him the books he needed for the upcoming school year for free. Harry didn't bother protesting. When he got back to his room wrote letters to Moony, Madam Bones, the two elder Diggorys, and Professor McGonagall. He set up meetings with the first three and changed his schedule for the upcoming year with the Deputy Headmistress, also taking the opportunity to ask about the school's policy on dogs on campus. Harry knew Fudge had already informed the Diggorys and Madam Bones that he wanted to speak with them, but he thought it would be more polite to reach out personally as well. He was pleased to get replies from both of them.

The Diggorys joined Harry for lunch in one of Tom's private rooms in the Leaky. Madam Bones would be along in another few hours. Harry had much to discuss with both of them.

"What's all this about?" Amos asked.

"I'm in love with Cedric Diggory."

"Oh, uh, when did that happen?" Anna asked, mostly okay with it.

"Either about a year from now or sixteen years ago depending on your perspective," Harry admitted. "Do you believe in time travel?"

"Hard not to," Anna shrugged. "I know the Department of Mysteries looked into time turners but I don't think they're that far along yet."

"They're not," Harry conceded. "They will be. That's the relevant question. They're on the wrong track. They're trying to make the turners bigger instead of amplifying the power they already have. They'll figure it out in another few years."

"How old were you?" Amos asked. "When you fell in love with my son?"

"Fourteen. I just never stopped really," Harry admitted. "Loving him was easy. Losing him was hard."

Amos did not have the heart to ask the man, who should still be a boy, in front of him what had happened. He wasn't sure if he was protecting Harry from his memories or himself from the knowledge. "Why'd you come back?" he asked softly.

"To stop the war," Harry met their gaze with fiery green certitude shining his eyes. "Voldemort and Dumbledore… I can prevent it. Nobody, _nobody_ has to die. A decade and a half worth of absolute horror undone. I can change it. Starting with Cedric."

"Thank you." It was the only thing Anna could think to say.

Amos seemed to agree. "Yes," he nodded, "thank you."

"It's mostly selfish actually," Harry dismissed. "I just want to prevent my nightmares. I was the only one strong enough to make the trip. So I came. Do I get your blessing?"

"Well, you're still 13, right?" Harry nods. "So yes," Amos decided. "I can't raise an argument against Cedric being in a relationship with Harry Potter, here to save the wizarding world once again."

"Me neither. But you're getting Cedric's opinion in all this," Anna threatened. "I'm not just up and marrying my son off just because you fancy him. It's his choice first and foremost. I don't care if you _are_ Harry Potter. My son comes first."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Harry agreed, smiling eagerly.

* * *

 _Harry had insisted on apologizing to Cedric's parents in person. He wasn't sure why he was doing this to himself, but he felt like he deserved it. It was it's own sort of horror to relive what had happened that night and to tell the two people who probably cared the most in the world that their son was dead. Harry shut down his emotions, sounding somehow both monotone and mournful as he spoke to them, not really registering their reactions._

 _Amos kept breaking down to let out the beginnings of a wail before bottling it back, trying to listen, trying to hope that there was some small part of his son's last moments which were not as horrible as everything else that happened that night. His hope was in vain. Everything that night had been horrible. Harry didn't have the heart to tell him that outright though._

 _Anna was worse somehow. She just sat there and listened. Tears flowed down her face freely but she didn't whimper or wail, didn't shake or sob. Anna just listened as the boy her son had wrote to them about told her of her son's death, and everything that had happened up until it. Anna listened, and let the tears fall._

 _Harry would not find out that she killed herself the next morning until months later. And at that point he would mourn all over again._

 _It would not be long until Harry was constantly in a state of mourning. People just kept dying on him._


	5. Amelia Badass Bitch Bones

**Chapter 5: Amelia "Badass Bitch" Bones**

There was a knock at the door. "Ah, that would be my lunch meeting," Harry noted, breaking conversation. "Please don't get up," he asked the Diggorys, "you may as well stay and hear the whole story." He opened the door and bowed courteously, "It is a delight to meet you in person, Madam Bones."

"Why am I here, young mister Potter?" Amelia asked immediately, all business. She was supposed to be working today but… Fudge had actually gotten up the courage to ask something from her and then Harry Potter himself wrote her such a polite letter that morning and now… well, she was a bit curious. She was still wasting time not working in the office, though KIngsley would keep the other aurors mostly in line in her brief absence.

"Please be patient and hear the whole story before choosing to react without all the information," Harry requested. "And keep in mind, if he meant me any harm I would already be dead."

"If who meant you any harm?" Madam Bones asked, suspicious. Her eyes darted around the room. Unless the Diggories (and why were _they_ here?) were disguised they were alone to her senses. People didn't conceal themselves unless they had something to hide in her experience, so who was it?

"You can come out now Padfoot," Harry called.

Sirius woofed in acknowledgement, loped out from under the table in dog form and stood, transforming back to a man as he did so. Madam Bones drew her wand but didn't spell him as he held his hands up in surrender, unarmed.

"I come in peace?" Sirius joked weakly.

"You'd better," the head of the DMLE threatened Harry without taking her eyes off of the escaped inmate. "Explanation, _now_."

"Sirius Black is innocent," Harry offered quickly. "He wasn't the secret keeper for my parents, Peter Petegrew was. When he betrayed my parents, Sirius went after him. Petegrew exploded the entire street, cut of his finger and transformed into a rat, escaping into the sewers. He's been a house pet in a magical household ever since. Ronald Weasley's pet Scabbers is really a man and a dangerous mass murderer."

"This…" Madam Bones trailed off, considering. Mr. Potter could be imperiused, but for both the Diggories to be imperiused too, and for Black to appear unarmed… they _probably_ weren't lying or being tricked. "Your testimony is enough evidence for me to conduct a raid. _If_ what you say proves correct - and that is a big if - then Sirius Black's innocence will be proven quickly. I'm still going to have to take you into custody though. I would be a fool not to."

"As long as there are no dementors," Sirius requested. "I can't take any more of those damn things."

"That's agreeable," Madam bones promised.

* * *

"Despite his status as an unregistered animagus, the maximum penalty for which is six months in Azkaban, a small portion of his recompense has been deducted," Madam bones announced fairly. "That being said… I now pronounce Sirius Black innocent of all charges. Congratulations Lord Black, you're a free man."

Sirius did not hide his tears of joy. Harry did not suppress his swell of pride and relief. Somewhere in the background, cameras were clicking, recording the event for the papers, but neither man cared, too busy hugging.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, when the paper eventually came out and Dumbledore picked it up for morning perusal, he spilled orange juice down the entirety of his beard before his meeting with the ICW. He was the only one not amused by this turn of events.


	6. Mental Scars Produce Good Blackmail

**Chapter 6: Changing the Electives**

Harry awoke the next morning, to a bright sun shining in his face. It was a pleasant surprise that he hadn't had any nightmares, but Harry chalked it up to having ben to emotionally exhausted after the events of the day before to really dream anything. Remembering a decision he had made earlier, Harry quickly wrote a letter to Professor McGonagall and summoned Hedwig to the table, promptly tying it to the leg she happily and eagerly held out to him.

* * *

 _Dear Professor McGonagall,_

 _I would like to change my choice of Divination as an elective. I do not believe that I am a seer, like this class is meant for. I would like to switch to Arthimancy and Ancient Runes. I took math in primary school and took French as well. These backgrounds should help me immensely in these subjects. I understand that it is unusual to change my schedule for the coming year so close to the start of term, but I believe these classes will be more helpful to me in the future._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Harry Potter_

* * *

After sending Hedwig off on her way with a bit of bacon, Harry headed down into the Leaky Cauldron for breakfast and then out into Diagon Alley. He headed straight to Gringotts. Harry's most important mission for the day was to find out what it would take to make him an emancipated minor since he knew that full access to his vaults and the right to live without a legal guardian hovering over him would be essential to his plans. Harry entered Gringotts and spotted Griphook almost right away.

Harry patiently waited in line as a few others went ahead of him in line. There were other tellers available, but he had a preference for Griphook since they went way back. In Goblygrook Harry greeted Griphook formally in the way of the Goblins, " **May the blood of your enemies flow like gold.** "

" **And may your blade be red with the blood of victory** ," Griphook responded automatically before looking up to see whom he was addressing. Immediately Griphook's eyes widened to the size of saucers and he seemed to choke on thin air for a moment out of pure shock. " **If you could follow me, Warrior Potter.** "

Harry was surprised to be addressed as 'Warrior' instead of 'Child' due to his age but didn't show it. He knew that Goblygrook as a language had titles and occupations as terms of qualitative address instead of the simple 'Mr.' or 'Miss' that English used.

" **Of course** ," Harry replied, nodding. He was confused, but went along with it anyway. Goblin customs were complicated and screwing up tended to get you beheaded, so he figured it was for the best that he didn't make a fuss out of nothing. Griphook showed in into a hallway with a high ceiling and then to a large white marble door inlaid with precious stones. After knocking respectfully and receiving permission to enter, he showed harry into the room, demonstrating either his surprising strength or the enchantments on the door which made it easy to open. There he was met with a goblin dressed in regal robes. Harry bowed to the new goblin, not quite knowing why he was doing so.

"Young Warrior Lord Potter, what do you ask of the goblin nation today?" the intimidating goblin asked formally in English.

"Um-er, excuse my ignorance in this matter, but whom do I have the honor of addressing" Harry asked while respectfully bowing to the goblin.

"That is acceptable, Young Warrior Lord Potter, I am Ragnook, the leader of the goblin nation here in Great Britain," the regal goblin said.

"Great Leader of the Honorable Goblin Race, I am asking for the Goblin Nation's assistance in gaining my emancipation from my muggle guardians," Harry formally requested.

"We would be pleased to render ourselves of use in this matter, Young Warrior Lord Potter," Ragnook replied. "However, there is one difficulty with your request. In order to be emancipated you first require permission and approval from your magical guardian. Unfortunately, I do not believe you have the ability to obtain this at the current time."

"That would depend upon the identity of my magical guardian," Harry conceded. "Is there a way around that requirement which can be exploited?"

"Your magical guardian is, and has been since the time of your parents' deaths, one Albus Dumbledore," Griphook piped up. "And I can only think of one way that you can get around the requirement. You will need the signature of the Minister of Magic."

"I have means of obtaining that," Harry smirked. "It is easy to call in a favor from a man when you know secrets that he wishes to keep hidden."

"Ahh, blackmail, a most favorite method for dealing with enemies," Ragnook approved.

"What do you have on him?" Griphook asked.

* * *

 **(AN: Really disturbing mental image coming up. You can skip the flashback if you don't have BrainBleach™ handy.)**

 _Harry and Ron were wandering the halls after dark under the invisibility cloak. They heard some strange thumps in a disused teacher's office. The two friends glanced at each other, confused. Then there was a strangled and muffled moan._

" _C'mon, someone sounds like they need help," Harry whispered._

 _Ron rolled his eyes at Harry's eagerness to do something which would obviously get them caught but followed him anyway, if only because he didn't want to exit the safety of the invisibility cloak. Harry cracked the door open to assess the situation before barging in. (He may be a Gryffindor, but he was an_ _experienced_ _Gryffindor and that meant taking precautions.) Ron looked too._

 _At first they were confused. Then realization dawned and they were horrified. Harry's left eye started twitching persistently and Ron turned green. Without speaking another word they turned away and left._

 _They were halfway back to the common room when Ron managed to speak. "Harry, was that-"_

" _Yes Ron," Harry replied. "That was Minister Fudge and Professor Umbridge."_

" _ANd did that-"_

" _Yes Ron, it was real."_

 _Ron vomited._

* * *

Harry shuddered at the memory. "Trust me, you're happier not knowing," he replied. "And by the way, why do you keep calling me Young Warrior Lord Potter?" Harry asked.

"Because you are young, you are a warrior, and you will become Lord Potter once you are fully and inevitably emancipated," Ragnook explained.

This was new. Harry started to hyperventilate, and Griphook slapped him on the back hard.

Harry shook his head and snapped himself out of it. "Why was I not told of this earlier?" Harry demanded angrily. "That would have been helpful!"  
"Because your magical guardian is either gravely incompetent or wanted to keep you in ignorance," Ragnook informed him darkly.

"Well, that sucks," Harry admitted. Harry bowed again to Ragnook and rushed to the post owl office. He got a snowy owl (that wasn't hedwig, but it wasn't like like the recipient would be able to tell anyway) and sent a letter to Minister Fudge.

* * *

 _To Minister Fudge,_

 _I know of your affair with your Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge. Unless you want this affair to be made public you will sign the emancipation papers for me. Your choice._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Harry Potter_


	7. Righting a Wrong

**Chapter 6: Contacting Remus and Changing the Law**

That morning at breakfast, Harry smirked happily at the newspaper detailing Sirius's innocence and decided to go right on ahead and help the remaining member of the Marauders. Well, Peter was still alive out there somewhere but… Harry had no inclination to track the man down for the sole purpose of killing him. He had seen enough of death to last him two lifetimes and then some during the war and he didn't feel any urge to perpetuate that if it could be avoided. Which meant Harry needed to write to his Uncle Moony.

* * *

 _Dear Uncle Moony,_

 _I know it's been a while, but I was hoping to see you again, especially now that you know of Padfoot's innocence. (I have included a cut out of the article in case you don't get a copy of the Daily Prophet.) I know you were friends with my parents and while having Sirius is great, I would really appreciate stories about them that don't include pranking, picking up 'chicks' or my mother's temper when she found out about something. I'm currently staying at the Leaky Cauldron. Please visit soon._

 _Fondly,_

 _Harry Potter_

* * *

Harry leaned back from the letter, satisfied as he sent it off with Hedwig. Moony, _Remus_ was a good man. His death had been… well, it was one of the things Harry would carry the guilt for forever. But while he couldn't change the memories he held, Harry most certainly could prevent it from ever happening again in this timeline. With this in mind, Harry glanced down at the newly donned Potter Lordship Ring on his finger. It was time to exercise some of his power, let the world know he was no longer a pawn but another player altogether.

* * *

"In conclusion and as I have just proven," Harry affirmed fearlessly, "werewolves are not dangerous if they are administered with the Wolfsbane potion or spend the full moon with their pack."

The Wizengamot was in a stunned silence. Most of them were fools and followers who leaned towards either Dumbledore or Malfoy Sr.'s respective sides on any issue. Dumbledore prettied up his words with phrases like 'for their own good' and 'appropriate precautions for a difficult condition' but ultimately he was all for restricting werewolf rights. Malfoy outright considered them less than humans and, in this unique situation, agreed with most of Dumbledore's rulings. Harry was gambling on his own ability to sway the neutrals and those few intelligent members of the board such as Madam Longbottom and -

"I agree," Amos Diggory piped up. Harry hid his victorious grin behind a calm facade. Harry was new, young, 'inexperienced' and, to most eyes, all hype. Amos however, was the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Head and therefore an expert on the subject so his credibility was a lot stronger than Harry's. "My department has done extensive research on the Lycanthropic Disease and all the evidence we have collected thus far suggests that they will only attack or hunt humans when either provoked or ordered to do so by pack their alpha. Fenrir Greyback _is_ a notable exception, but we cannot condemn an entire species for the choices of a single individual. As such, I second the motion of removing the Anti-Werewolf Laws of twenty three years ago."

"Aye," Madam Longbottom stood, her thin and surprisingly imposing form rising to stand to her full height. Somehow, Harry noted respectfully, the vulture on her hat made her look intimidating in a way which Neville's Boggart never had. "It is time to repeal the mistakes we made during the war with a man who is already dead. We are well past living in fear and shall comport ourselves as such."

"Well said Madam Longbottom," Harry nodded to her gratefully. Things were going better than he had anticipated. Having a little old lady essentially call everyone cowards if they backed out would definitely work in his favor. "Before taking this to a full vote however, I have this to say…"

Harry took a deep breath while drawing his wand and turning to clasp hands with his godfather, attending by virtue of being Lord Black himself. "Are you sure, Harry?" Sirius whispered. "Even I take this kind of thing seriously." Harry merely nodded. This was something he could do, of that he was certain. And he _knew_ he would win the movement if he did this. "Alright then." Sirius Raised his voice so that the entire Wizengamot could hear. "Will you, Harry, find a cure for the disease known as Lycanthropy within the next ten years?"

"I will," Harry affirmed, to gasps and astonishment of the observers.

"Will you only experiment with willing volunteers and maintain ethical guidelines to the highest standard while searching for this cure?"

"I will," Harry stated. That portion of the vow was more to assure the werewolf population that he wasn't trying to drive them extinct but to help them. He didn't want to accidentally get himself assassinated over a misunderstanding.

"Will you personally ensure that the cure is made available easily and not administered by force to any unwilling recipients?"

"I will."

The room was silent, holding itself in reverent awe.

Harry didn't hide his smirk as he made eye contact first with Lucius Malfoy and then with Albus Dumbledore. Harry felt the persistent probe of Legilimency and allowed the headmaster to read his surface thoughts before forcing him out with the force of a bear trap closing.

Before being so quickly - and painfully - removed from Harry's mind, Dumbledore heard only four sentences:

I am not a pawn. I am a player. There are now three sides to this war. May the best man win.

* * *

" _I'm sorry," Harry confessed. "I saved you for last. I kept hoping to find another way… but if I don't strike now and end it, he'll just make another and then-"_

" _I understand," the Sorting Hat cut him off a bit stiffly. "I do not blame you. I hope that my advice was of some use to you these past years."_

 _Harry nodded, throat constricting almost painfully. "You saved lives," Harry promised. "You saved people from my mistakes. I- I'm not sure…"_

 _The Sorting Hat frowned at the man in front of him. "You are, and have always been, meant for greatness, Mister Potter. You should not doubt yourself like this."_

 _Harry swallowed. He'd been a war general since before his second decade began. He'd done and seen things he never wanted to. But this… "I'm not sure I can do this," he admitted._

" _Harry, this is my choice," the Sorting Hat assured him. "This is what I want, this is what the world needs and, if he were alive now, this is something I would request from Godric himself. I am honored to have you here to act in his stead."_

 _Harry bit his lip to keep from sobbing as he nodded with tears in his eyes. "Goodbye, my friend."_

" _Goodbye."_

 _Harry lifted the Sword of Gryffindor… and brought it back down in a flashing silver arc. At least there was no blood, only a plume of screaming black smoke as Dumbledore's final Horcrux was destroyed. Harry allowed himself to do the majority of his grieving in private before quickly banishing any trace of his tears and exiting the room._

 _Those loyal to him, the Undesirables as they had been deemed by the rest of the Wizarding world, were waiting for him. Sirius was there, as well as Hermione, Neville, the remaining Creevy brother and a contingent of Weasleys. The others were elsewhere, largely in hiding._

 _Hermione lifted her head to face Harry, tears on her cheeks quickly being wiped away in an attempt for him not to see the pain she was in. "Is it done?" she asked, knowing the answer and fearing confirmation just as much as she hoped for it._

 _Harry nodded. "Tomorrow, we march against the Order of the Phoenix. Tomorrow, Dumbledore dies."_

 _Neville met his eyes. "Yes, sir."_


End file.
